Dark Heart
by Psycho Tangerine
Summary: The background story of one character and the decision he made as a boy that led him to become...well I'm trying not to give it away.  Not a humorous story this time.


Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers. Honest.

This is a story that was bouncing around in my head. It's not a humorous one this time, so it is a bit outside my comfort zone. I will accept any comments or criticisms.

Thank you to liron-aria for beta reading this and giving suggestions to help me improve the details.

**Dark Heart**

**By**

**Eileen (Psycho Tangerine)**

Age 4

The little boy looked around the large hut as he held onto his mother's long beige cotton skirt. He could see men jumping around, yelling and kicking at each other. He could smell the straw of the thatched walls combined with sweat. He pulled back further behind his mother as his father bowed to a strange dark-skinned man in greeting.

"Matsu, I see you have become an honorable man," said Sensei as he returned the bow. "It pleases me. I was worried that your lack of discipline would cause you to stray."

The little boy frowned as he gazed at his father's reddening face. Father was his hero. Father was strong. How dare this man say anything bad about him!

"I have learned the error of my ways, thanks to your guidance," replied Matsu in a low but firm voice with another bow. He straightened himself up. "That is why I wish for you to train my sons in the way of the Ninja."

'What?' thought the little boy. 'I don't want to do anything with this mean man.' He looked over at his brother who had let go of Mother's hand and bravely stepped forward.

"I see this one is not afraid of me," said Sensei as he rubbed the other boy's head. "He's already beginning to show the heart needed to become a Ninja." He looked at where the little boy was hiding. "Come here so I may see you as well."

The little boy shook his head. He then felt a hand clamp on his shoulder as Mother pulled him off her skirt. She gently pushed him to stand next to his brother. He looked back up at her, a look of betrayal on his face.

He felt the large man grab him under the chin. He tried to turn his head away as the man looked into his eyes. "This one fears me. He will require plenty of training." He spoke directly to the little boy. be a challenge."

The little boy paid no more attention as Father and Sensei discussed the arrangement. He felt some bitterness at what Sensei had said about him. His brother was always the favorite. Well, he just had to show them that they were wrong, that he was just as good…no, better than Brother.

XXXXX

The boys sat side by side on the mat. Their eyes were closed as they meditated…or attempted to in the little boy's case. He wriggled in his sitting position. He scratched an itch on his arm. He peeked one eye open to see his brother sitting perfectly still to his left. "Show off," he murmured to himself. He winced as he felt a whap to the back of his head.

"Concentrate!" demanded Sensei. "It has been a month since I took you on as a student. How can you hope to be a Ninja if you cannot even do a simple meditation?"

'I do not want to be a stupid ninja,' the boy thought to himself, not daring to say so out loud. 'I want to play outside and have fun.'

Sensei put his hand gently on the brother's arm. "Excellent. I believe you are ready to start working on something more challenging." He led the other little boy to another mat to begin a new exercise. As they walked away, Sensei glanced back at the little boy with a scowl. "Keep working on your meditation."

The little boy waited until Sensei's back was turned before making a face at it. He then settled himself down to try meditating again. But he kept hearing the shouts and laughter of some of the other young students running around outside in an improvised game of tag. He smiled as he opened his eyes. Forgetting for a moment what he was supposed to be doing, the little boy got up from the mat and headed for the door.

"Where do you think you are going?" barked Sensei.

"I want to play tag with them," replied the little boy. "Please? I'm bored. I don't like to metate."

"That's meditate." Sensei frowned. "And, no, you cannot go play. You will sit back down and keep working at it. There is no reason why you cannot do it when your brother can."

The little boy flopped back down on the mat with a frown. Why did he have to be stuck with this stupid meditation stuff? Why couldn't he get a break and play outside, too? Why did that mean old man only pick on him and never on his brother? He closed his eyes and spent the rest of his meditation time thinking of how to get even with the other boy.

XXXXX

Age 7

"Again! Your block is all wrong! Have you not been practicing?"

The young boy slowly picked himself off the mat. Sensei was angry with him. Sensei was always angry with him. "I did practice."

"For how long? There is no reason for you to be so far behind your brother." Sensei repositioned his hands. "We will go through it again."

He studied Sensei intensely as he copied each move. He was getting it. He had almost gotten to the end of the kata.

"Fool!" cried Sensei. "How many times must I tell you not to bend your wrists there?" He sighed then looked at the boy standing next to him. "Show your brother the proper way to do it."

The young boy watched as his brother performed the same kata, without the benefit of having Sensei to copy from. He watched as his brother did every movement fluently, effortlessly, and perfectly. The seed of envy already planted in his chest began to sprout.

XXXXX

It was very warm that afternoon. He was to practice his blocks and kicks alongside his brother. He had been at it for almost a half hour. He picked his mat off the grass and began to roll it up.

"Where are you going?" asked Brother. "We've only been at it for a little while. Sensei says you need to work harder if you are to become a ninja." He looked at the other boy. "I want us to be ninjas together."

"It's getting hot," the young boy told his brother. "I need a break. I am going swimming." He looked back at his brother as he headed out the gate. "Come on, I'll race you!"

But his brother shook his head and continued to work.

The young boy was sunning himself at the edge of the lake when his brother arrived for his own swim almost two hours later.

The other boy shook his head at his lounging brother. "Sensei wouldn't like knowing you didn't finish your exercises."

The young boy looked up with a grin. "But you won't tell, will you? We are brothers after all."

"No, I won't say anything," said his brother as he removed his shirt. "I don't like when Sensei yells at you. Why can't you just try harder?"

The young boy stood up and looked at his brother in thought. "Try? Maybe you should try getting away from me!" With that, he began to chase his brother into the lake. The boys then engaged in a splash fight that lasted until it was time for their evening meal.

XXXXX

The tri-annual Ninja tests had come and gone. The young boy knelt on the mat, head bowed. The disappointed tones of Father and Sensei washed over him.

"Sensei, I do not understand his low scores. How…"

"He has the ability to be a great ninja. But he does not apply himself. He barely passed this time."

Father looked at the boy, sadness in his eyes. "You have let me down." He looked back up. "Sensei, I promise, he will work harder. He will do better."

"I shall not give up on him. But his endeavors must increase. He must put aside his childish impulses," replied Sensei. "Perhaps," he continued, looking directly at the boy, "you should try to follow your brother's example more closely. He received top scores in all his tests."

The young boy looked up to see Father smile at his brother with pride. He could feel his jealousy grow.

XXXXX

The boys were heading back to their home as Father further discussed his sons' training with Sensei. The young boy kept his head to the ground and his hands in his pockets as he trudged on ahead, ignoring his brother who was trying to cheer him up.

"I can beat you with one hand," grumbled the young boy.

"What?" asked his brother as he dropped the funny face he had been making. "But Sensei never has us spar. He says we're not ready yet."

"You mean he says _I'm_ not ready yet," corrected the young boy as he stopped and held his hands out in front of him. "But I am. Come at me."

The other boy shook his head. "No, we're not allowed to…"

"Aaaaaaaah!"

"Hey!" cried the other boy as his brother suddenly went on the attack. He blocked several poorly placed blows and then ducked a kick before using his own leg to knock the young boy's leg out from under him, causing him to fall on his bottom.

"What was that all about?" asked Brother as he held out his hand to help the young boy up. "What did I do to you?"

The young boy ignored his brother's hand as he got himself back up. "Just wait, I'll be better than you someday. Then Father will be proud me instead of you!"

His brother watched in confusion and concern as the young boy ran ahead of him.

XXXXX

Age 10

The boy grinned as he completed the difficult exercise without error for the first time. For the past three years, he had been put through extremely tough training under Father and Sensei's watchful eyes.

"Much better," commented Sensei thoughtfully. "Do it again… but quicker, and with more strength." He indicated his head to the boy's right. "Like that."

The boy's grin disappeared. Just once, he wanted to receive praise from Sensei. He wanted Sensei to see his improvement without comparing it to Brother's. He looked to where his brother was already performing a much more difficult exercise with precision, speed, and strength. The boy scowled at this. He had to do something, anything to surpass the other boy.

XXXXX

Father was beaming with pride. Mother was smiling. Sensei was holding the medal ceremony for the latest tri-annual tests. The boy watched as his brother was again rewarded with a medal for his top scores. But for once, he didn't mind. He had also achieved top scores. For once Father and Mother's pride would be for him as well. He waited eagerly for Sensei to step in front of him and place a medal around his neck. He felt his heart sink as Sensei passed him by and continue to give medals to other Ninja students.

He found himself barging into Sensei's hut. He had never dared to enter before, at least not uninvited, but he had never been so furious. "That's not fair! My scores were just as good! Why didn't I get a medal?"

Sensei looked up from where he had been meditating. "First, you have no right to come in here without my invitation. Second, it is in poor taste to ask to be rewarded for good work." He narrowed his eyes and glared at the boy. "Finally, I am well aware of how you achieved those scores. Burton and Salazar have already confessed to helping you find and copy the answers for the written portion of the test."

The boy paled. Those little traitors! "They're lying! I would never…"

"Silence!" hissed Sensei. "Did you think I would not also notice the influence of the forbidden Najora plant during the skill portion? Did you think we would not find traces of it among your personal belongings? How long have you been ingesting it?"

The boy hung his head. He began to breathe heavily. "How else was I to make you and Father proud of me? I'm not good enough for you no matter how hard I try!"

"Try?" asked Sensei. "You do not work even half as hard as your brother does. How often over the years have I seen you playing while he works on his skills? You always want to show that you're better, yet you are not willing to put in the effort."

"I know I'm better," murmured the boy. "I'll just have to…"

"Enough," snapped Sensei as he shook his head in disappointment. "You do not even have the decency to apologize for your shameful behavior. You are hereby suspended for the next six weeks. It is only due to your young age as well as your father's sake that I do not expel you this time. I shall be speaking with him about this dishonor." Sensei settled back to continue his meditation, waving his had dismissively at the boy. "Get out of my sight."

XXXXX

The boy marched angrily from the training grounds. How dare Sensei suspend him! Had he not gained the strength and speed that the older man so desired? Had he not finally gotten as good as his brother? So what if he had to ingest some leaves to increase his strength and balance? Other students were doing it. Why didn't they get in trouble? Why only him? He didn't even want to think of the punishment that would be waiting for him at home.

He felt so irate that did not look where he was going. He did not realize that he had entered into the Dark Forest until he looked up and saw the thick layers of trees surrounding him. The boy gave a gasp and turned around to head out. After all, Mother and Father had frequently warned him to keep out of the Dark Forest. He and his brother had often heard them speak in hushed tones to each other about the danger and evils within it. But then the boy turned back around and continued to trudge ahead. Who cared what they thought? They wouldn't care if something happened to him. They liked Brother better anyway.

It was then that he saw the dark cave. It was then that he saw the old man sitting in front of it, throwing powders into a fire. The boy paused as the man looked up. He should have felt fear as the old man's eyes, which were filled with evil and malice, looked deeply into his own. But all he felt was a sense of curiosity and a strange feeling of belonging.

"Finally, one with a heart such as my own," creaked the old man. "I was never able to take my knowledge of the Dark Ninja arts to its fullest achievement. But you, my boy, have the potential to surpass even me."

"What are you saying?" asked the boy in a whisper. "I'm only a failure. They all hate me. I'll never be as good as my twin."

"At being a Ninja of the Light?" The evil old man scoffed as he looked into the boy's mind. "My poor boy. How hard you must have worked all this time; only to be made to feel like a failure. Perhaps you could just work harder. Oh," he said as the boy grimaced at that, "but that wouldn't be any fun, would it?"

The boy shook his head.

"And I suppose you would still not catch up to your brother." The evil old man shook his head. "I just cannot imagine what it must be like to never feel appreciated…to never feel the love of one's own parents."

"My parents love me," retorted the boy. But there was doubt in his voice. "Don't they?"

"If you say so," replied the man. "But then again, if they truly loved you, they would have found the proper Sensei for you. For you are not meant to be a Ninja of the Light. You are meant to work in the Dark. I can train you for this."

The boy paused in thought. Perhaps this was the way to beat his twin. Perhaps this was the way to eventually become the best of them all. Still, he had his reservations. "But, isn't it bad to become a Dark Ninja? Father's told me all these stories about…"

"Of course he would have his false stories. He does not want you to see the truth. He does not want you to become as strong as your brother. Why I wouldn't be surprised if he and your Sensei were grooming him to inherit everything…maybe even the school…while you end up with nothing." The old man turned back to his powders. "But perhaps I am wasting my time. Perhaps you do not wish for the power that comes with being a Ninja of the Dark."

"Power?" asked the boy. "Would I be able to win a match against my brother?"

"More than that," replied the evil old man with a leer. He could feel what little resolve the boy had breaking. "You could be the best. You could be the one receiving all the praise…all the glory. You could be your parents' favorite."

"Master," the boy knelt in front of the old man. "Teach me. Teach me so that I may become a powerful Ninja. Teach me so that I may get the respect that I deserve."

The old man smiled a toothless grin. "Excellent. We shall get started immediately. But first, I will need to know your name."

The boy looked up. "My name is Kiya. Kiya Watanabe."

End.


End file.
